UK needs war powers act to stop govt. independent action: Corbyn

A photo released early on April 14, 2018 on the website of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows an explosion near Damascus after Western air strikes. (Photo by AFP)

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for a war powers act that would stop the government of Theresa May from launching strikes without first consulting MPs.

His remarks came a day after US, British and French forces struck multiple places in Syria following President Donald Trump’s orders for military action.

"I think parliament should have a say in this and I think the prime minister could have quite easily done that." Corbyn told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

"She took a decision some time last week that we were going to work with (French President Emmanuel) Macron and Trump in order to have an impact on the chemical weapons establishment in Syria."

The US, British and French forces launched air strikes on Syria early Saturday in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack outside Damascus last week.

Syria's Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a "brutal, barbaric aggression" aimed to block a probe by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global watchdog.

Syria has strongly rejected any role in the suspected attack, which took place just as the Syrian army was about to declare full victory against the militants operating in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus.

Corbyn, who has issued a plea for an independent UN-led investigation of the chemical weapons attack, said that May “could have recalled parliament last week” or “she could have delayed until tomorrow when parliament returns.”

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn (File photo)

"I think what we need in this country is something more robust like a war powers act so governments do get held to account by parliament for what they do in our name."

Meanwhile, a new poll shows that only a quarter of Britons supported May’s decision to launch air strikes.

The exclusive survey for The Independent shows only 28 percent back the strikes, 36 percent oppose it, 26 percent neither opposed nor supported it and 11 percent did not know.